


In the Mud

by RipJawWolfFang



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Blood, Fighting, Fluff, Injury, Magic, More Fighting, Multi, Near Death, Pre Relationship, Sad Byleth crying, Whump, Wounds, lots of fighting, sad Lin pretends not to be sad, they love each other very much, wound care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 05:27:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20718842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RipJawWolfFang/pseuds/RipJawWolfFang
Summary: Caspar goes down in battle. Lin and byleth have to rush to heal him.





	In the Mud

It was far to cold and far to wet in Faerghus during the biting winter to be cornered like this. Pinned up against a marsh, already ankles deep in mud, shivering and as the moisture soaked through their clothes, making the heavy winds feel even harsher against chilled skin. 

Byleth didn’t know how the empires army snuck up on them, she didn’t even know how they knew they would find them here. It was supposed to be a smooth trip, rescue a minor lord from those harassing them at the borders of there territory and secure there support For the coming war. It seemed simple. It would have been simple, had there not been some kind of leak somewhere in her army. It was because of how simple the job was on the surface that she barely brought half of her former students out to secure the area. Perhaps this had been a trap all along?

“We have to push through.” She called out, glancing behind her to the very tired looking Lindhart who was trembling much more then any of them, nursing a rather serious gash in his lower arm. 

“Stay behind me. Caspar and I will break the lines, you follow, alright?”

The spent young man nodded back, his breaths short and sharp from the pain. There was no way they could push through the marsh like this, not without being picked off by a single Pegasus unit who wouldn't be anywhere near as slowed down as they where. 

“Bernadetta!” she called out to her left, not having to make eye contact with the archer to know she was there. “Keep them off us.” 

“R-right!” a much meeker called back, clutching her bow tighter in and the reigns of her horse closer. 

Bernedetta’s unit had been to close to the enemy when they finally showed themselves. To close, and taken to many losses, leaving them with Precious few ranged units. It really was up to her.

Byleth nodded to herself and moved beside her trusted master of war. Cutting down an enemy who tried to push past him before they could get to close. Even he was starting to look warn thin. He had looked quite exhausted when they tried to pull back before and it pushed them into this goddess forsaken mud. His chest was heaving against the weight of his armor and the effort it took to swing the huge axe down on top of enemy’s, the strategist knew he wouldn’t be able to keep this up for to much longer either. 

“Ready?” She called out, now right by his side. 

“Let me at em!” Caspar almost chirped back, though his tone wasn’t as bright as usual. Even he knew they where in trouble, but he was hardly going to show it now! Lindhart, Bernadetta and the Byleth needed him. If loosing meant there deaths then he couldn’t loose!

The professor gave a nod and signaled there advance, pushing forward as the sword of the creator cut through one enemy and then the next, each time seeming to tear away a little bit of her strength, but never halting for a moment. Any soldier who managed to actually lock swords with her was met with the edge of Caspar’s axe, crashing down on them in brief moment they were distracted by the teacher long enough for him to raise the heavy steal above his head and bring it down. Any enemy’s that slipped passed to attack him while he was readying himself was met with the divine blade thrust through there armour.

The battalions the small force had brought with them fought no less fiercely, though all where aware of just how many of there men had fallen. Lindhart would rush to try to heal them, though more often then not, especially with his own wound, he wasn’t getting them much further before they would collapse into the marsh, some almost seeming to disappear within its shallow but all consuming depths.

The power of Sothis was long since depleted as well, there was truly nothing Byleth could do but push forward. 

Though there numbers where thinning and they were outnumbered, there enemy’s fell faster. For every soldier lost five or six enemy’s where taken down. There advanced training and teamwork showed, especially as the teams there desperation to finish the fight before there body’s gave out grew. It never stopped hurting however, watching your own men fall, and it never stopped clawing at the professors mind when she watched the life drain out of her enemy. The final, bloody push was exhausting, every moment feeling like it took both hours to pass, and all to brief seconds all at once. 

One clash and then another, and then another, and another. It felt endless, and even with the powers of the goddess, the professor was growing far too tired to protect as many people as she wanted. There screams burned into her mind as she had to keep pushing forward, unable to look back for fear of seeing too many familiar faces she had failed today. 

Then, just like it had been nothing, the last of the enemy’s leadership fell from the sky. An arrow from Bernadetta bow pierced the screaming Pegasus, dragging it’s rider to the ground alongside it in a harsh wail of agony. The creature stumbled, attempting to stand and feel back on its master, crushing them beneath the huge, struggling animal. A second arrow sent the creature silent, and the enemy finally seemed to panic. 

“Great shot!” Caspar cheered back at her, making the archer blush violently at the praise.

This was it!

This was there chance!

Byleth pulled together what was left of her energy and charged forward with renewed vigor, casting a large and disorientating fireball into enemy’s who were now quick to scatter. The flames roared and smoke billowed upward causing those with less conviction to follow the orders of a deadman to flee rather than wait to be cut down. 

Those who didn’t run met the master of wars axe rapidly, the loud, sticky crunch of shattered skulls echoing out and causing even more to flee. It was actually looking like they could win this against all the odds. Protecting her former student's lives pushed the professor forward, even as the nicks and cuts from near misses stacked up. 

It all happened so fast in the chaos of the enemy desperately torn between retreat and knowing that they still had the former students outnumbered. Byleth hadn’t seen the enemy rush her from behind, she hadn’t seen the knife in his hand, and she didn’t see the moment it tore through the flesh between the broken plates of heavy steel plates as though it were nothing. 

Byleth didn’t see it. 

She heard it. She heard the swing of an axe behind her and the cry of pain that was both familiar and strange. 

The professor turned on her heel ready to swing her sword at whatever had snuck up behind her in all the chaos, but what she sore sent her knees week. 

Blood.

Bright and red and gushing out of a wound she couldn’t see.

Caspar managed to stay upright, even after the blade tore through his chest, in and out so fast he honestly didn’t even know he had been hit for a second. The sound of his axe meeting its mark on the enemy’s shoulder allowed for a moment where the war master thought he had escaped with a minor cut, that his armor had deflected the worst of it. That he could keep fighting.

That only lasted for a moment.

Then the pain finally sunk in. 

Sharp, deep pain. 

Crimson pouring out far to quickly when he tried to clutch the wound, an attempt to stop the tide. 

A horrible choking feeling causing his chest to spasm when he tried to breathe, only to have his airways suddenly full of thick, metallic fluid. 

The rest of the world was suddenly swaying as though he was thrown aboard a sinking ship in the worst storm imaginable. 

It was all to much. He felt himself fall but never hit the ground, the professors strong arms catching him from behind, lowering him carefully to the ground. He thinks he hears her call for someone to cover her, but he isn’t sure, he’s stuck frozen, looking down at where blood keeps spilling from between his fingers as he tries to slow it down. 

“Lindhart!” Byleth carefully eased her former students head to her shoulder, unable to even lay him down to start working on him in this damned mess! It was all she could do to keep his head above water while trying to cut the leather straps of his chest plate free. 

“I’m coming!” The soft voice isn’t too distant behind them, though Byleth knew she couldn’t rely on her former student to be able to find a break in all the chaos to get to them, especially not while wounded. The mage would fight his hardest, but there never where any guarantees on the battlefield.

It was up to her to keep Caspar breathing until someone could get to them. Keep him from bleeding out. Lindhart was a skilled healer, surely even with his injury he could save her former student if he could get there in time. 

“Caspar?” She cooed, hopefully audible over the still raging fight around them as she finally managed to toss aside the breastplate getting in the way of her delicate hands. “You still with me?” 

Blue eyes shifted up to her, a horrible choking sound and yet more red erupting from his mouth and nose as he tried to respond, causing her eyes to water slightly, though she bit her lip and forced the emotions Sothis has suppressed for her for so long back. 

“Okay, it’s okay, don’t try to talk. Just listen okay.” Her fingers burned hot already with a healing spell as she gently pried weak hands from the open wound, only to replace them with her own, quickly but carefully funneling as much of the soothing force into Caspar's open chest as she could. Her other left hand gently cradling him to her, holding him close to offer some comfort against the pain and the cold. 

The longer they sat there the more the shallow waters beneath them seemed to turn to ice. The sudden causing both to shiver softly though caspar was quickly loosing that ability to. His chest would heave in an attempt to draw in breath, but then the pain would come. So hard and sharp it was tempting to hold his breath against it. The urge was met only with a blinding need for oxygen when he tried and he gulped hard to try to fight through another shaky breath. He could hear his beloved friend whisper a few things to him softly, though his consciousness was starting to teeter on the edge and everything began to blur.

Sounds. Smells. The pain in his chest. The warmth of the magic flowing into him, he has to struggle against the darkness creeping in just to hold onto any of it as it all threatened to swirl together in a mess like the pool they where sitting in, and then crash down around him. 

“You're doing good, Caspar.” The Byleth praised softly, rocking him slightly as her magic pulled together the edges of the wound. She could tell he was fading, he wasn’t getting enough air, he was loosing to much blood. He wouldn’t last long. “Stay with me, Okay? Your going to be okay. Lin is on his way. Just breathe.”

There was a tiny nod in response, all he could give to let her he was still in there, that her words where still reaching him. Even as what she said started to slip away from him, he didn’t want her to stop. He needed something to hold onto, something to anchor him to what was real and what was quickly becoming dark as he lost more and more to the wound. 

The professor couldn't stop it fast enough, though. each breath became harder, the battle and the professors voice getting further and further away. He reached his hand back up, sliding it over her softer ones, and feeling the crackle of magic against him. 

“I know it hurts.” She cooed, trying to distract him from the pain by gently bringing her other hand up to cradle him closer. 

There was a thick slosh beside them as another set of knees entered the mud, long, thin hands going to there place over Casper's chest next to the professors smaller ones. It made tired blue eyes flicker up to meet there owner. 

“I’m here Caspar.” The familiar voice of Lindhart came comfortingly, “I’m sorry it took so long.” Though it had felt like a lifetime it really only took the mage a few minutes to reach there side safely, having now scattered what was left of the enemy at last. 

It didn’t take the healer long to realize exactly how bad the situation was, though you’d never know it from the slight frown he wore, unchanging even as his own magic felt out the damage. He gave his former teacher a quick look, hoping he wouldn’t have to explain how bad his oldest friends condition was. Surely, the amount of blood he had already lost would give that away. 

“It’s not good.” He said simply as his friends eyes seemed to loose focus the longer Lin looked into them. He hoped his friend wasn’t aware enough to understand what he was saying, worried in the back of his mind that it could cause the boy he had been friends with since they were five to give in. 

“I know.” Byleth's voice cracked for the first time, her emotions starting to creep through the mask as she watched Caspar’s body gulp for air, seemingly unable to take another full breath against the pain. He was dying. She had known that. She knew it, yet she didn’t want to believe it. 

“Caspar!” The mage called in a firm, almost scolding voice when his friends chest refused to rise again, finally unable to fight the pressure against it though he was still clearly trying, “Caspar I need you to breathe! Look at me!”

When blue eyes finally flicked up to Lindhart, they where already dulling. He couldn't fight it anymore, as much as he struggled. He tried to take another gasp, but that to failed and his mind finally turned to black.

Tears finally came spilling from green eyes, rolling down her cheeks and onto her students shoulder. ‘At least he isn’t alone.’ Byleth tried to comfort herself, tried to hold it together as long as she could. Caspar had once told them with a huge grin on his face and one arm around each of there shoulders, pulling them both into an uncomfortably tight hug, that they where his two favourite people. She couldn’t help but think that under any other circumstances he would be smiling. Happy to be this close to the people he loved so deeply and honestly. He did love them, she knew that. He was always so happy to show his emotions to anyone around, no matter what they were or what people thought. 

Lin moved his magic up his friends chest. Pushing it so hard into Caspar’s broken lung that he had to choke out what seemed like a bucket of blood, churning the tired mages sensitive stomach enough that he had to fight the urge to faint himself. After a moment of still ness there was a deep, wet gasp, and a shudder from the fallen war masters body. 

“Put your hand where mine is.” The mage instructed the professor firmly without ever looking up to see if she was paying attention, he trusted that she was, “your pushing air in and out of his lungs, understand? Your magic has to gently lift his chest, keep the blood from blocking his airways, and then carefully help his lungs deflate. Be very gentle.” He stated firmly, “I’m going to stop the bleeding.”

When the professor moved her hand up to rest closer to the top of Caspar’s chest and carefully started easing the magic into his now pale chest, the more skilled of the two moved his focus straight to the wound. It didn’t have to be neat. It could scar. It could bruise. He might even have to repair any mess he made now, later, with more magic and possibly surgery, for any of that to happen though the bleeding needed to be stopped preferably several moments ago. It was only the professors magic that had kept him going this long. 

As Lindhart worked, rushed and making mistakes that could have been avoided if he just had a little more time, Little mistakes that would increase scaring, increase recovery time, increase mortality. Every one of them he made the cursed quietly, but as the bleeding finally stopped he let out a sigh of relief. A hand quickly moving up to check for a pulse he was hoping was still there.

“Okay.” He steadied himself at the weak trembling under his fingers, looking over Caspar’s broken body again. He wasn’t sure if his friend could breathe on his own, but wasn’t going to stop the professors magic and potentially not be able to get it started again to find out. 

Quickly Lindhart started listing of the variables in his head, trying to work out the next move, if there even was a next move. His eyes and his good hand quickly fluttered about the cold body in front of him. His eyes were still open, but had dulled and refused to respond when the mage touched his face. 

“He’s unconscious, probably for the best.” He confirmed for his worried looking teacher who’s cheeks where stained with a salty trail that came constantly now, unable to hide it anymore. “We need to move him somewhere safe, preferably without stopping the magic. If we can support his heart and lungs until then...” the young mans thoughts cut off sharply. Even if they got to that point, and it was an If, Caspar was unlikely to wake again without some kind of miracle from the goddess. 

‘A Miracle from the goddess? That’s a silly thing to hope for, if those where ever granted no one would find them important enough to wish for.’ the older boy thought bitterly.

“Although...” he hadn’t realized he had said it allowed when his eyes flicked up to meet the professors downcast expression, not even catching her attention with his thoughts. “We have a bit of the goddess right here...”

As soon as the idea came to the mage, it churned his stomach in the opposite direction. A vain hope against hopes, though one that would require his hands to be stained and even deeper red then they where now. He had remembered sneaking in and reading some of Jaralts notes, a roughly jotted down memory of the arch bishop cradling his head and then offering her blood to replace his own. How he should have died, his wounds where deep and there wasn’t anything any healer could have done for him and yet he seemed to sleep for some time and awaken as good as new, taking his roll with the knights soon after. 

Then there was the professor. How badly was her body broken when it fell onto the river from such a great hight? Ribs must have snapped, legs broken, blood everywhere, it was honestly nauseating to even imagine the extent of that trauma, and yet she was simply had a five year long nap, woke, and returned to the battlefield. That was special. That had to mean something. 

“Professor if I may speak for a moment.” Lindhart caught her attention as the body in her arms gave a particularly loud and strained breath against her magic. They really didn’t have time for this, he’d have to cut it short. “Will you give him your blood?” The last word came out shakily despite himself. Lin was defiantly not going to enjoy this. 

“My blood?” Before she could begin to start forming wild assumptions of her own, Lindhart quickly interrupted. 

“You have some form of connection to the goddess, to the archbishop. The archbishop gave her blood once to you’re father in order to save his life after injuries much worse than this one.” He paused for a moment to allow those words to sink in, hopefully, to allow the professor who was no slouch, to put his conclusion together on her own. “It may not do anything, but as it stands I can’t see Caspar making it back to camp alive.”

“Can you do it?” Came byleth’s quick reply, no hesitation, just like like the mage knew she would. 

“I think so. I can take a needle, and connect your vein to his.” Bile rose up in his throat just thinking what that was going to be like, though he couldn’t complain to much when he was already sitting in a deep pool of water, mud, and his friends lost life. 

“Ill use magic to push it into his body faster, you might feel a little faint...” though probably not as faint as Lindhart felt just suggesting this let alone doing it, “it may do nothing. His body could reject it, in which case he will die very quickly, and there won’t be anything I can do, or it could buy him enough time to heal. There really is no way to know for certain.” 

“Alright.” Byleth nodded, casting her gaze around her for the first time in awhile to make sure they were truly safe enough to do this here, not knowing how long it would take. 

Lindhart fished around in his supplies for a moment before pulling out what he needed, and placing it onto of his bag, hopefully it wouldn’t sink into the cursed sludge to quickly. With the amount of dirt on everything already it was a bit much to ask for any of this to be sterile. ‘I’ll have to watch for infection later.’ He thought, gently lifting his friend's arm and looking for a suitable vain. 

“I don’t know if he’s going to keep breathing if I stop...” the Professor almost breathed out, pure exhaustion was already sinking in, and if she lost any more blood she doubted she could keep the magic up. 

“I’ll take over once I set this up.” Lindhart wasn’t truly sure if he had the energy left either, but there was nothing for it. Not while knee deep in mud and miles from any other healers.

The needle slid into his skin smoothly once a good place had been found, thankfully seeming to cause Caspar any further discomfort. Even knowing he was unconscious Lin had still worried any pained Yelp would finally force the content of his stomach up after he had been so good to hold it back for so long this entire battle.

“Alright Professor, give me your left arm.” 

As soon as the limb was offered the needle was in, and a moment later he had the two connected by a thin tube, blood quickly rushing from byleth and her still pounding heart into the lower pressure of Caspar’s arm. Neither was sure how much it would take, or how long it would take, but both where surprised at how easy that had been. 

Lin gave an exhausted sigh and took a second to calm himself before moving his good hand back to Caspar’s chest. “It’s alright. I’ll take it from here.”

Byleth nodded, though seemed unsure about stopping. Caspar was breathing with the help of the magic swelling in his chest, but even then, there was a wheeze and a crackle to it, and sure enough the moment she pulled back the body beneath her gave a loud gasp, his chest set into a spasm that would have been painful if he wasn’t so far from conscious. 

The mage quickly took over and picked up where she left off, though much more sure of what he was doing, and with a much brighter magical energy thanks to his skill and the crest he carried. The young master of war relaxed again after a few easier breaths, seeming to sink into byleth’s grip even more as though this new force pushed him deeper into slumber. 

“We just have to wait...” Lindhart yawned, his head sinking forward a little as he nestled into the steady rhythm of his own magic. 

“Lin.” The professor warned, though there was no bite to it. She was as exhausted as he was, as they all where. 

“I’m awake, I can’t fall asleep here, even if I wanted to... in all this...” the bile rose in the back of the mages throat again just thinking about what was sinking into his pants, and he gave a little cough to clear it. 

They didn’t have to sit there long before a very shy archer approached, “everyone’s gone, we chased them away. They went running into the Forrest.” she confirmed quietly before what she was looking at had completely sunk it. “W-wait... Caspar? Is he? Is he dead?”

“Not yet.” Lin replied honestly, his voice not betraying how badly it tore at him to see his oldest friend like this. 

“Not... not yet!?” Goosebumps rose on the young women’s neck, and a little squeal escaped, suddenly more frightened than she ever remembered herself being. 

“Not at all if we can help it.” Even though her tears, Byleth sounded sure of herself, managing to pull herself back together enough to start planning their next move. “Bernedetta. Listen.” 

The professor waited for a quiet squeak of a yes from the would be hermit before continuing. 

“Round up anyone we have left, send the fastest horse we have to find Seteth. He should be at the Monastery.” There was a slight pause while the rest of her plan came together. How far could they move Caspar? How close could they risk staying to this place? “Do you remember where we set camp on the high ground in that forest when we came through here five years ago?”

If that place remained untouched it was perfect. Heavy cover from the trees would prevent them from being seen. High ground would prevent the rain from flooding them out. They could get everyone warm and safe and dry and hopefully wait for reinforcements. 

“Umm, y-yes I do.” Bernie replied after a moment of nervous thought.

“Take everyone else and set up camp there, when you're done, send someone back and we will come to you.” ‘Hopefully with Caspar breathing properly.’ She thought to herself, a bitterness settling into her mouth. 

“Okay!” 

Bernie took off after that, jumping back on her horse to try to round up anyone left who wasn’t already intensely tending to one of there fellow soldiers injuries. They could look after themselves, however, most knew just enough magic and had just enough supplies that they could pull each other out of danger, and those who where already gone... byleth would rather not think about that. 

The three sat in silence, cold, shivering, trying not to pass out or vomit from the stress of it all For the better part of a half-hour, Caspar’s body continuing to struggle against each breath as though it was the hardest thing in the world even with the help of Lindhart's magic ensuring damaged lungs could fill properly. It really wasn’t until the professor was dizzying herself, and Lindhardt magic begins to sputter out that their tired eyes met each other again. 

“He might already be gone...” the mage admitted softly. they hadn’t seen any improvement, and they should have by now he had estimated, perhaps his brain had already been to badly damaged, or perhaps the professor's blood didn’t possess the same properties as the archbishop? Maybe it had even been him who had done something wrong when closing the wound in the first place. 

“I can’t keep going...” Lin admitted sadly, still trying to keep his magic flowing though it wouldn't be long now. He didn’t want to say goodbye to his friend, didn’t want to stop fighting for him, but there was simply nothing left to do. 

“It’s okay... I-it’s...” it wasn’t okay. It would never be okay, but Byleth knew she couldn't fight fate. Sothis had told her as much the day her father died, much like this, from much the same wound though caspar had fought hard and she knew far more about magic now then she had then. 

Lindhart Bowed his head slowly, letting the magic pulsing through his fingers come to a slow stop encase any part of caspar was still there to feel it slip away. He didn’t want it to be sudden, or frightening, hoping the slow easing off would see him peacefully pass rather then jerk and gasp in a failing attempt to breathe. 

Byleth pulled her former student closer, cradling his head and whispering a soft goodbye. Making sure he knew how hard they had tried, and how much he was loved... how much he would be missed. 

The mage softly stroked his hair back as he pulled the magic away, never quite knowing how to grieve for someone he loved so deeply. Did he love anyone else this deeply? Lin had expected his breathing to stop pretty quickly when he lifted his hand, given how much effort it was taking to keep him breathing even with help, but the blue eyed boy only shuddered when the warm pulsing was removed. ‘probably more reflex then anything’ he thought bitterly, though he couldn’t help but hope his magic had at least been soothing, had reached him where his words could not. 

His condition did start taking a turn after a few quiet moments though, his breathing quickly falling to a shallow, unnatural rattle. The professor stroked his cheek admiring his beautiful but now dull eyes for a few more moments before gently sliding them closed. 

“It’s okay...” she whispered softly cradling him a little closer, “its alright... you don’t have to fight it anymore...” it came out broken, shaky, lacking all of the usual confidence she could manage when in a battle or even when she had first cradled him here. “It’s okay.” 

“I’ll get this out of the way.” Lin mumbled to himself, reaching for the tube connecting the two. Partly because it was only practical but mostly because he needed something to do with his mind and his hands. If it wasn’t working it wasn’t working, and there was no sense watching the professor grow even paler doing something that didn’t seem to have any effect...

Except...

He ran his fingers slowly up and down Caspar’s limp arm, carefully along the vein receiving all of the professors blood. 

“He’s warm...” not all over, certainly not in the rest of his shuddering body, but where the blood was hitting his system, he was warm, and had surprisingly good colour. “It’s unusual... perhaps it did have some effect after all...” 

“If... if you think he’s more comfortable... I can hold on longer?” Byleth offered softly, her voice threatening to break into more tears as she spoke. “If it’s keeping him warm while he...” she cut herself off, still unwilling to say the words.

Lin gave a thoughtful hum, though in truth he hadn’t payed much attention to the professors question, his mind was already buzzing with other possibilities, other ideas. Caspar was still breathing after all, as weak as it had become in the absence of healing magic. Something had happened. Something had changed. 

When Lin moved to put his head to his friends chest the professor had pulled back to let him, listening intently for what he was almost sure would be a faint heartbeat, probably starting to shut down at this point, though what he did hear brought a tiny smile back to his face. 

“His heart is most defiantly still working.” He mused, something had changed, he was right! But what? And how to use it? He could hear the sturdy heart beat over Byleth’s quiet tears, over the still wet sound in Caspar’s lungs. 

"when you fell into the canyon, what did that feel like?”

The question seemed to come out of nowhere, and without having spoken his thoughts aloud it might as well have come out of darkness. It seemed so unrelated, so thoughtless, the professor actually didn’t seem to hear him the first time. 

“I said,” Lindhart cleared his throat to try to make his voice clearer, knowing it was crackling and tired, somewhat slurred even at this point. His whole mind seemed to be fighting off a swarm of very loud bees just to get any of his thinking done, let alone put them into words for the professor. 

“When you fell into the canyon, you say you went to sleep?” He waited for her to give a confused little nod, tears not looking like they were going to stop any time soon but a strange confusion, perhaps even anger, slipped into her expression. “What did it feel like? Do you remember?”

“Feel like?” She mumbled, frustration at being questioned at such a time clearly evident in her voice. “It felt like I was asleep...” 

“Do you suppose then, that your breathing slowed? Your heart rate? Do you remember?”

“I...” byleth was about to respond with a much more sharp and barbed response when the line of questioning started making sense, even in her cotton filled mind, and she actually had to try to pry that memory from the grips of the darkness. 

It was difficult to pull up any memories of that battle, if she where honest. So much of it was lost to her. There was a vague tugging somewhere deep in the back of her mind, a painful, patchy memory where she lay in the dark, pain splitting through every inch of her, then slowly... 

“It felt warm... it felt like falling asleep, but it felt warm...” byleth mumbled after a moments thought, getting a faint nod from the mage who slipped his hand over his friends chest again, trying to feel any difference, any sign that perhaps he was going into the same kind of sleep. 

“His chest is warm... warmer then mine anyway.” Lindhart gave a tired smile, his voice almost drifting off at the end. It might have been silly optimism, a despite attempt to deny his friend's poor condition, but something in him told him he was right about this.

“Don’t cry professor, Caspar wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he was awake to see you like this.” The mage chided softly, an attempt to perhaps lighten the mood. “I may have spoken to soon in saying this hadn’t worked.” He gestured to the blood still rushing through the tube into the pale body she had been cradling so gently for so long. “It has clearly done...well something...” though he wasn’t confident enough to say what exactly that was. 

Byleth gave a little nod but the tears just wouldn't stop coming, her shoulders racking with every little sob. Her head was starting to become lighter and lighter, and that did nothing to reassure her.

“I can’t heal him anymore, but if he can hold on himself there might be something I can do later...” he yawned again, waving off the exhaustion once more and letting his hand rest over the war masters heart where it had fallen before. “After a nap... a long one...” 

once his energy had returned to him, he could check over his friends condition again, attempting to put right anything that had gone wrong, and hopefully helping him come back to wakefulness. He had to hold onto that, at least for now. It was better than the alternative. 

There was a long moment that hung between them, the mage hoping the war master would perk up a little, and the Professor growing rapidly more exhausted, more pale. Her tears dried up as the effects of giving just a little to much of her life to Caspar started to dig into her own consciousness. Tugging at the corners of her vision and making her eye-lids impossibly heavy. 

Lindhart kept an eye on both of his friends, as tired as he was, and When Byleth started to sway softly as though her body wasn't going to hold up to much longer he moved to unhook his makeshift medical equipment without asking for permission. The weary professor did move away slightly in response, wanting to keep helping, though with her impaired state she wasn’t much good to any of them. 

“Come on Professor, it’s bad enough I’ve been sitting here in all this... this...” he gestured to the muck around them, “don’t make my job harder.” 

Byleth complied the second time, though she was now quiet. Probably to exhausted to talk anymore. Lindhart sympathized with that feeling very much. He was sure Bernedetta would be there before to much longer, to pull them out of this muck, and then they could all catch some much needed rest. 

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Caspar wasn’t sure when he had fallen asleep, or where for that matter. His head was heavy with a thick fog, almost impenetrable to the outside world. The harder he tried to put his fingers on what had happened, the more distant they felt.

‘A battle...’ he thought to himself, trying to clear away the cobwebs.

‘Professor Byleth... Lindhart... they where there...’ he wracked his brain, trying to pin down any of what happened. ‘Where they hurt?’ And now he was starting to worry. ‘Lin was hurt! His arm... and...’ 

just as the thoughts came to him drowned in concern and the uncertainty, they slipped away. Even the war masters thoughts seemed to hurt to round up, causing a dull ache that made everything even harder to process.

‘Am I hurt?’ Caspar strained his mind, desperately reaching for some indication of what happened. Something... 

anything... 

The war master certainly didn’t feel hurt, except for the throbbing in his head. He felt warm. Maybe he had been hit on the head? Maybe that’s why he felt so... 

So tired... 

A soft voice reached his ear, though it took a moment to work out who exactly was talking. Calm, quiet, and so, so familiar. A voice he had heard on so many of his best days for his entire life. 

‘Lin?’ He tried to make out what the taller man was trying to say, who they where talking to. Where they talking to him? What was that soft sobbing? Was that Lindhart crying?

No, it didn’t sound like it... 

Not that he was overly familiar with what that sounded like. He had only heard his childhood friend cry a few times in the past, and one of those times was when he had snapped his arm climbing a tree that Caspar had insisted they climb. 

‘Why do you all... sound so sad?’ 

Before he could really grasp any of his thoughts the darkness crept back in, pulling him back under and into its welcome embrace. 

———————————————————  
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It had been three days since they had managed to bring Caspar back to the Safety of the monastery. Almost five since he was injured in the first place. 

Five days and the master of war still had barely stirred. Even when the nurses and Lindhart had carefully sat him up and poured water down his throat in an attempt to stop him from becoming too dehydrated. 

He didn’t stir when his bandages where changed or when the closed up wound had been reopened in an attempt to clear the infection from being closed up in the mud and grime of a bog. He hadn’t so much as flinched when Seteth pulled him up onto the back of his wyvern, or when byleth had helped clean the mud from his body back at the infirmary. 

When they had told Seteth what Lindhart and herself had done to try to save him, he didn’t look incredibly surprised, or all that worried as he had checked Caspar’s Condition. Steady hands had moved over the still body on the bedroll in front of him, checking his pulse, his breathing, his eyes. 

‘All things considered,’ the wyvern rider had told them, hand still at Caspar’s neck, ‘I would say you have been successful.’

Byleth was less sure. Something about how still her usually energetic former student was, was frightening. It ate her. Clawed at the back of her mind. This was so unnatural. So wrong. He was never this quiet. 

At first every time Caspar’s arm gave an involuntary jerk from nerves firing off at random, she had thought the worst. She had thought the worst when the closed wound had started to swell, when the fever had caused her students body to erupt in sweat. She was terrified when Lindhart had told her they needed to reopen the wound, and when they had let her back in again afterward. 

Lindhart however was flitting about the infirmary in a state of focused curiosity. Everything Caspar did, everything he didn’t do, everything Seteth said and everything he didn’t say, every book he could get his hands on, and every secret he could pry from Flynn. 

It was all fascinating!

Fascinating enough that he could easily push his worries to the back of his mind, fascinating enough that he had helped during a bloody surgery he could have let someone else take care of just so he could take a closer look. Even though his closest and oldest friend was undoubtably sick, he wasn’t in pain, he wasn’t suffering, and he was recovering however slowly. 

Lindhart had tried a few times to comfort Byleth. He explained at one point, through a long yawn, why it was so interesting that the surgical incision had closed up so much more easily then he expected, and how remarkable it was that the infection seemed to already be clearing itself. He tried, at least, though it didn’t seem comforting to have the desired effect at all. 

Now they where both just sitting here, in the all to silent room, waiting for something to change with there companion. 

“Well, Professor, I think it’s about time I take a nap.” The mage yawned, leaning back against the chair and putting his book; a long tomb on the history of attempted and mostly failed transfusions, down on the desk next to the his sleeping friend, who as usual didn’t respond. 

“Your leaving already, Lin?” Byleth’s bright eyes met his, looking far more tired than his ever did. That, surely, was something to see.

“I’m afraid so.” Long legs stretched as Lindhart pulled himself to his feet, the long spidery fingers of his left hand, a bandage still stretching from his elbow to his wrist confining his movements, combed his far too long hair back out of his face. 

“You should get some sleep yourself, it’s not like he’s going anywhere.” 

“I’ll rest when you get back.” She promised quietly, knowing full well that she was no use passed out. “Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight Professor.” Lindhart gave her a small smile and then lent over his friends body, good hand finding a bare shoulder and giving it a careful squeeze, “Goodnight Caspar.” 

“M-bwerya-goin?” Came a soft mumble from the body beneath him that caught both of the rooms other occupants off completely off guard. 

The Professor was on her feet and at the other side of the bed before she had time to even process what had changed. 

“I’m going to take a nap Caspar.” The mage said slightly louder, clearer, hoping what he said could be understood. 

“Oh...” came the quiet, heavily slurred response. “I’m s-sleepy to...” 

“Alright, but before you go back to sleep,” Lindhart sat down on the edge of the bed, getting a little closer to his mumbling friend, looking over him carefully. “Can you open your eyes for me?” 

This made Caspar scrunch his entire face up as though he had been force fed a lemon, one eye peeking open against the dim light of the candles lighting the room, even that enough to make them water and burn. 

“Welcome back, Caspar.” Lin smiled honestly, a warm hand finding the cheek and stroking softly, an open gesture of affection that made the war masters other eye slip open, still squinting hard. 

“W-whe-d I go?” The soft voice responded, suddenly sounding quite confused. He didn’t remember going anywhere. Actually, he couldn’t remember much of anything clearly. 

Just like that, all at once the emotions came flooding back for Byleth, her hand gripping her companions firmly she had to turn her head to look away so he couldn’t see the damn break, tears flooding her eyes and rolling down her cheeks like they had five days ago. 

“Mm? Professor?” Worry suddenly furrowed the war masters brow. Where they okay? He only ever heard byleth cry after she had lost her father, so something had to be very wrong If she where upset!

“I’m alright... I’m... I’m alright...” the tactician assured him, hand tightening around her former students firmly. Clearing her throat and attempting to dry her eyes before looking back down at him again. “Im alright... do you feel okay?” 

This made Caspar Shrug slightly in response, he wasn’t sure how he felt. Everything was buzzing so loudly around him that he could barely hear his own thoughts! His eyes burned though, and there was a terrible throbbing in his skull. 

“Did- hit my h-head?” 

“No, Caspar, but you are in the infirmary.” Lin informed his voice warm and honestly happy to see those bright blue eyes again, “is it bothering you?”

“Mhmm” came the tired agreement, though Caspar almost immediately regretted that answer when his friends cool and soft hand left his cheek. 

“I’ll get you something for that. You can close your eyes now.” 

The injured man nodded and let his eyes fall shut again immediately. He didn’t know where the throbbing was coming from if he really didn’t hit his head, but there was nothing else he could do about that.

Even now the professor had managed to stifle the sound of her crying, Caspar knew she was hurt, and that alone was enough to make him worry about what exactly was going on around him. 

“Why’re you cryin- P-professor?” 

“It’s okay, I’m... I’m really happy to see you.” Byleth responded, bringing his hand to her lips and softly placing a little kiss to the back, smiling softly when his hand tightened around hers in response. 

“I’m ha-happy to see you t-to!” As slurred and cracked as Caspar’s voice was, it still managed to sound cheerful and energetic, even if it was slower and quieter then usual. “S-nothin to cry about...” 

“Your right, it’s not.” She gave him a gentle smile he couldn’t see, but one he defiantly felt in her voice. 

There was a soft creek next to him when Lindhart sat down on the old wooden bed, gesturing to the Professor to help Caspar lean forward. 

“We’re going to help you sit up now, and then I’m going to give you some medicine. After that we can both take a nice long nap together.” As if to punctuate the point, the mage gave another tired yawn. It really was getting late.

“S-sounds good...” 

Caspar gave a tiny nod, trying to open his eyes again to see exactly what was going on around him when Byleth’s hands moved to his shoulders, carefully pulling him forward as the healer placed a few much larger pillows behind his back to prop him up. His body shook a little with the effort, but it didn’t hurt. Should it have hurt? He didn’t even know why he was here. Byleth had mumbled an apology when she felt him quivering, but he was more exhausted then uncomfortable, especially as he was carefully lowered back down onto the soft pillows, sinking into the smooth material. 

“Alright, this is quite sweet.” 

‘That doesn’t sound so bad’, Caspar thought, happily opening his mouth for Lindhart, unsure of why he was warned about the flavor in the first place. Unsure right up until the taste of the pill actually started sinking in. 

“That’s d-disgusting!” He would have tried to spit it out if a glass of water wasn’t immediately pushed to his lips, the whining war master and forcing him to swallow so he could take a gulp of water.

“I told you.” Lin smiled at his friend knowingly. He had missed Casper's voice so much while he had been sleeping. 

“Y-you s-said it was sweat!” 

“Isn’t it?

Caspar’s brows furrowed. It was defiantly sweet, so sickeningly sweet the flavor had flowered out into every crevice of his mouth, making him want to gag rather than swallow. He wanted to argue more, but when the soft laugh of his professor reached his ears, all of the frustration slipped out of him and a smile crept back onto his face. 

“That will take some time to work,” the mage informed in a dry, clinical tone. “I’ll be right here until you fall asleep, if you need anything.” 

“Thanks Lin.” 

“Hush now.” 

Caspar have a heavy sigh and completely relaxed back into the pillows, finding that the thunder roaring inside his head quite quickly cleared and was replaced by an overwhelming need to sleep. It wasn’t long at all before he was snoring away, bringing back Byleth and Lin’s smiles as they watched over him.

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**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! It means the world to me that someone else enjoyed this enough to finish if!  
Not gonna lie this is me absolutely taking out my feelings about recent events on Caspar hahaha
> 
> There is actually a second chapter to this. Shorter and fluffier. I don’t know if I’ll post it since it kinda goes off the rails a bit into a sea of fluff... if you wanna see that I will edit it but *shrug* I can’t really ever find a beta reader for these things and I suck at doing it myself lol.


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